Pushkar

Pushkar is a small, mellow town with
no vehicle traffic on the main street. There are over 400 temples in
Pushkar. Some of the important temples are dedicated to Brahma, Raghunath,
Varaha, Savitri ,and Gayatri. It is famous for the Camel Fair, which takes
place here in Oct/Nov. Alcohol and meat are supposed to be banned here.
Pushkar is on the edge of the Rajasthan desert, ten km northwest of Ajmer,
400 km southwest of Ajmer, 400 km southwest of Delhi, and 145 km southwest
of Jaipur.
It is said that Lord Brahma's lotus flower fell in three separate places in
the Pushkar area, and water came from the ground at each place. They are
located within a radius of six miles. Senior Pushkar, where the hotels are
located, is considered the most holy place, because the lotus fell here
first. Middle Pushkar is 3 km down the road and has a small Hanuman temple
and a 200-year-old banyan tree. New (Junior) Pushkar, 3 km further north,
has a small Krishna temple. As Brahma threw the pushpa (flower) with his kar
(hand), so the place received the name Pushkar.

History
It is said that while Lord Brahma was passing this spot he dropped a lotus
flower. From the spots where the petals fell, water sprang out and lakes
were formed. There is a rectangular lake here surrounded by temples.
According to the Padma Purana, Brahma, the lord of creation, killed a demon
with a lotus flower here. He dropped the lotus at this place to kill the
demon. Petals fell in three spots, where lakes emerged.

Brahma wanted to perform a yajna on the full moon day in Kartika (Oct/Nov).
Lord Brahma, the creator, was in search of a suitable place to perform the
yajna. The lotus from his hand fell down, rebounded, and fell at three
places, from where water sprang. Thus Brahma decided to perform the yajna at
Pushkar (push-lotus; kar-hand). But the yajna could not take place without
his wife, Savitri, by his side, and she was late. Brahma therefore for him,
so that he could fulfill the religious obligations. So the priest manifested
a daughter called Gayatri. Because she was an untouchable, to purify her,
she was put into the mouth of a cow and removed from the other end, which
totally purified her. When Savitri arrived, she saw Brahma married without
her permission. So she cursed Brahma that he would only be worshiped at
Pushkar.

Enraged, Savitri went and established a temple at Rathkagir, on top of the
hill a little south of Pushkar. It is said to be due to Savitri's resentment
that Brahma is mainly only worshiped at Pushkar.Pilgrimages
Attractions in Pushkar

Brahma TempleA
beautiful and one of the most important temples in Pushkar. This
temple is the only temple dedicated to Bramha in India. Bramha, the
Hindu god of creation, is four headed facing in all four directions,
symbolizing his presence everywhere. A four-armed life-sized statue
of Bramha is enshrined inside the temple. Another interesting
attraction are the coins studded in the floor of the temple, placed
by devotees from all over India to commemorate the births and deaths
of their loved ones.

Mahadeva Temple
This temple was built in the 19th century and is well-known for its
white marble image of Mahadeva with five faces. Also praiseworthy is
the structure and the incredible ornaments with which the statue is
adorned.

Ramavaikunth Temple
In 1920, this temple was built with great taste and delicacy, and
is also one of the largest temples in Pushkar. A team of masons from
south India were specially called to build the outer gopuram (arch)
over the entrance. Another stone gopuram bears beautiful sculpted
images of not less than 360 different deities

Varah Temple
Being built in the 12th century, the Varah Temple was one of the
many temples destroyed by Emperor Aurangzeb. It is said that he
particularly detested the life-size image of Varah, the god with the
head of a wild boar and the body of a man. Later in 1727, it was
reconstructed by Raja Sawai Jai Singh of Jaipur. The temple has
elegant carvings and sculptures, besides the richly ornamented image
house.

Savitri Temple
It is situated on the hill behind the Bramha Temple, and a long
series of steps has to be climbed to reach it. It gives a beautiful
panoramic view of the Pushkar lake, and the surrounding sand dune
villages. According to a legend, while Bramha was performing a
sacred ritual his wife Savitri was not present. Since the presence
was essential for the ritual, Bramha hastily married a local maiden,
Gayatri. When Savitri heard about this, she flew into a rage and
cursed Bramha that he would not be worshipped anywhere accept
Pushkar.

There are two Raghunath temples in Pushkar-the old and the new one.
The Deities in the New Raghunath Temple are Vaikunthanath and
Laksmi. The Deities in the Old Raghunath Temple, build in1823, are
Venugopal, Narasimha, and Laksmi. In India I saw many sign saying "non-Hindus
not allowed" at temples, but these temples had signs that said "Foreigners
not allowed".

Nag (Yajna) Hill - A Unique Attraction
It is said to be one of the oldest hills in the world. Its height
is said to have been ten crores yojanas in Satya-yuga, ten lakhs
yojanas in Treta-yuga, and ten thousand yojanas in Dwapura-yuga. In
Kali-yuga its height is decreasing day by day because it is sinking
into the earth. By the end of Kali Yuga it will almost disappear. It
is said that if you visit this hill on your pilgrimages to Pushkar
you will not have any interference or difficulties.

On this hill is Nag Kund. The story of this hill is that Rishi
Chyavan cursed Vatu, the grandson of Brahma, to become a snake on
the second day of the sacrifice performed by Brahma. Vatu was cursed
because at the sacrifice he released a snake that coiled around
Bhrigu Muni, the father of Rishi Chyavan. After vatu begged for
forgiveness, Brahma blessed him to live near this natural kund
(lake) on Nag Hill. Vatu did austerities here. People who worship
here on the 5th day in Krishna Paksha of Sravana (July/Aug) are said
to get their desires fulfilled. Agastya Muni's residence is said to
be a cave on Nag Hill. It is about 2 km from Senior Pushkar. You
cross Nag Hill to go from Ajmer to Pushkar.

How to
Reach there

Air
The closest airport is 131 km away in Jaipur.

Train
The nearest railway station, in Ajmer (10 km), has trains to
Jaipur, Delhi, Udaipur, and Ahmedabad. From Ahmedabad you can get a
train to Bombay or Dwarka. You can have a travel agent in Pushkar
arrange your train a day or two in advance for a Rs. 30 charge,
rather than going to Ajmer yourself. The best way to get to Delhi is
to catch an overnight train from Ajmer. It is much better than
taking an overnight bus, but it takes a little advance planning.

Bus
There are two bus stands in Pushkar-the Marwar bus stand, in the
north of town by the post office, which services some long distance
places, and the Ajmer bus stand, east of town by the Pushkar Hotel,
which has buses to Ajmer and Jaipur. There are regular buses from
Pushkar to Ajmer. The buses from Ajmer to Pushkar depart every hour
from 6 am to 10 pm from near the Ajmer railway station.